Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Trading 9% Higher - Still a Buy?

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) rose 9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.26 and last traded at $54.53. Approximately 344,307 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 731,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRUS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $86.00.

Merus Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.10 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.51.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Merus by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,899,521 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $290,125,000 after buying an additional 25,595 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merus by 34.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,172 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $198,588,000 after buying an additional 1,220,519 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Merus by 99.4% in the first quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $141,831,000 after buying an additional 1,679,777 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merus by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $89,356,000 after buying an additional 770,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,895,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Company Profile

Merus N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, engages in the development of antibody therapeutics in the Netherlands. Its bispecific antibody candidate pipeline includes Zenocutuzumab (MCLA-128), which is in a phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer, as well as in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors that harbor Neuregulin 1.